Man charged with beating his 82-year-old mother to death

A man was charged Wednesday with killing his 82-year-old mother after police found her body in the Somerset County home they shared, officials said.

Dalton Chiscolm Jr., 60, of Somerset section of Franklin Township, was charged with first-degree homicide in the death of Roberta Ann Taylor, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday.

Franklin Township police were called to the their home, which is located in a housing complex on Haverhill Place, after neighbors reported that Chiscolm was throwing household items out of a second floor window, authorities said.

When police arrived, he began yelling threats at them, prosecutors said. They decided to enter the home to check on Taylor, whom officers were told lived with Chiscolm.

Once inside, they found Taylor dead and her son was taken into custody "without any further incident." Chiscolm was taken to a hospital for evaluation, authorities said.

An autopsy performed by the Regional Medical Examiner's Office on Thursday showed Taylor died of blunt-force trauma to the head.

Prosecutors said her death is still under investigation and they have not determined the motive in her killing.

Chiscolm remained under police guard at the hospital Thursday night and will be taken to Somerset County jail once he is released, pending a bail detention hearing.

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at (908) 231-7100, or the Franklin Township Police Department at (732) 873-5533.